About RCIMLP & Executive Leadership
Research Center for International Maritime Law & Practice (RCIMLP) is an apex legal institution delivering specialized admiralty legal services, defense policy research, and capacity building.
Chief Executive OfficerAttorney Muslim Bin Aqeel
CEO, RCIMLP • Defence Analyst • Advocate High Courts
Former Visiting Faculty Member at National Defence University (NDU), Islamabad. Specializing in International Admiralty Law, Cabotage Treaties, and Lawfare.
“Geo-economics and the economic security agenda of promoting trade, investments and connectivity greatly depends on the development of Maritime Laws. In the last five centuries of capitalist development, European colonial expansion was only made possible with the sea and ships. Sea in this way became a route of communication and strength rather than isolation and weakness. It is no doubt that maritime is not only an industry but a great weapon by which the European powers in the beginning of twentieth century took control of almost all of Asia and Africa. The boom in the economic sectors of countries like Germany, France and the United States of America can be attributed to the development of the maritime industry.”
“He who commands the Sea, commands the trade routes of the world. He who commands the trade routes, commands the trades. He who commands the trades, commands the riches of the world, and hence the world itself.”
President, Board of GovernorsDr. Samza Fatima
President, Board of Governors • RCIMLP Pakistan
Project Director / Chief Coordinator, Law Study Centres, Bahauddin Zakariya University (BZU), Multan.
Appointment as President, Board of Governors, RCIMLP Pakistan
The Research Center for International Maritime Law and Practice (RCIMLP), Pakistan, hereby notifies the appointment of Dr. Samza Fatima, Project Director/Chief Coordinator, Law Study Centres, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, as President, Board of Governors, RCIMLP Pakistan, with effect from 1 October 2026, in recognition of her distinguished academic, research, institutional leadership, and professional contributions to the field of law.
Dr. Samza Fatima brings more than 16 years of experience in academia, legal research, institutional leadership, and higher education administration. She is an accomplished institutional reformer and academic leader, with demonstrated expertise in corporate and commercial laws, women’s empowerment and protection laws, and maritime and sea laws. Her leadership has contributed to significant academic and institutional reforms, capacity building, research development, and the advancement of legal education.
She is the author of six books and has published more than 70 research articles in national and international peer-reviewed journals. In her capacity as President, Board of Governors, RCIMLP Pakistan, Dr. Samza Fatima shall provide strategic academic and institutional leadership to the Centre; guide its research, training, and capacity-building initiatives; promote national and international academic and corporate collaborations; and facilitate scholarly engagement in maritime law and practice.
Capt. Dr. Khalid Al Owais
Honorary Vice President, Research Center for International Maritime Law and Practice (RCIMLP)
With more than twenty-five years of involvement across the maritime, oil & gas, marine insurance, loss adjusting, P&I, Hull & Machinery, cargo and shipping sectors — together with maritime legal consultancy and arbitration — Capt. Dr. Khalid Al Owais brings a rare depth of cross-sector expertise to RCIMLP’s mission.
Consultation with Ministry of Transport, Doha, Qatar
RCIMLP through their CEO was called on by Dr. Saleh bin Fetais Al-Marri (Assistant Undersecretary of Maritime Transport Affairs) at Lotus Tower, Ministry of Transport, Doha, Qatar. Matters of mutual trade, marine transportation research, and institutional legal exchange were discussed to support MOT’s efforts to expand the maritime transportation industry.
Lotus Tower Consultation
Doha, Qatar — Maritime Transport Affairs
Bilateral Marine Dialogue
Exchange of maritime legal frameworks
Institutional Cooperation
Maritime legal and shipping exchange
State Consultations on National Maritime Security
RCIMLP executive delegates presenting policy briefs on sovereign rights in the Arabian Sea, CPEC port connectivity, and maritime arbitration frameworks before the President of Pakistan.
Admiralty Jurists & Legal Incubator Fellows
Empowering upcoming High Court advocates through the first specialized maritime legal incubator in the region, bridging legal theory with commercial admiralty practice.